Molested girl's father blames top politician for shielding offender

Panchkula: S.C. Girhotra, father of teenaged molestation victim Ruchika Girhotra, on Thursday blamed former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and the entire establishment in Haryana for the harassment that drove his daughter to suicide and forced his family to go underground.

Coming out before the media and in the public for the first time in 19 years, Girhotra said his family was still terrified of former Haryana director general of police (DGP) S.P.S. Rathore and the system that supported the disgraced top cop.

"We want security for the family. If we are still threatened, we will seek security from the government," Girhotra told reporters at the residence of Anand and Madhu Prakash, the parents of Ruchika's friend Aradhana.

The couple fought Ruchika's case all these years since the August 12, 1990 molestation incident in this Haryana town, 10 kilometres from Chandigarh.

"Chautala was the main person behind him. Rathore used to carry out all his [Chautala's] wrong deeds. Chautala was at his back all the while. Even after R.R. Singh [the then Haryana DGP in 1990] gave his report recommending registration of a case against Rathore, the government took no action," Girhotra said.

Emotional

Girhotra, a retired bank manager, cried bitterly as he recounted the molestation incident and what his daughter and his family went through.

Rathore was on Monday convicted by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in the molestation incident and sentenced to six months' imprisonment and a fine of just Rs 1,000 (Dh79). He was immediately granted bail by the court.